Springfield Falcons set to honor city's seven Calder Cup champions

File PhotoSpringfield Indians owner Eddie Shore drinks from the Calder Cup after one of the team's three championships in the early 1960s.

In a gracious bow to a storied hockey past, the Springfield Falcons will honor the city’s seven Calder Cup championship teams with three special nights during the 2011-12 American Hockey League season.

Details cannot be finalized until the AHL releases its schedule in August, but preliminary plans call for the Calder Cup winners of 1989-90 and 1990-91 to be honored at the Falcons’ season opener.

Another night will be selected later in the season, at which Falcons management will salute Springfield’s Calder Cup winners of 1970-71 and 1974-75.

The third special night will be reserved to honor Springfield Indians teams that won three straight Calder Cups in the early 1960s.

Plans for those “Calder Cup Nights” are being handled by Falcons president/general manager Bruce Landon and vice president Bob Oliver.

The Falcons will work with the Springfield Hockey Heritage Society to locate and invite former players back for the various Calder Cup nights. They hope to have four or five former local stars at each event. The plan is to have the players available to fans for meet-and-greet autograph sessions at the three special games.

Also in conjunction with the Heritage Society, the Falcons plan to establish a Springfield hockey memorabilia display at a yet unspecified location in the MassMutual Center’s arena.

Steve Bordeaux, executive director of the Springfield Hockey Heritage Society, said that special “Nights at the Nest” will be held for members in conjunction with the games honoring the seven Calder Cup teams.

Last January, the Society had its first such night, giving members a chance to be introduced to Charlie Pompea a month after he bought a majority interest in the Falcons franchise.

“Honoring teams and players from Springfield’s hockey past is a wonderful idea, and gives our organization another way to work closely with Falcons management, which has been very co-operative with our efforts,” Bordeaux said.